The Lodge of Sorceresses is a secret society of the most powerful female mages on the Continent. Its founder and driving force is Philippa Eilhart, and its goal is simple to say and terrifying to imagine: magic should protect its own interests, and kings are far too important to be left to kings. Where the old Brotherhood of Sorcerers argued and voted, the Lodge plots.
In the books
The Lodge is founded in 1267, after the bloody coup on Thanedd destroys the Brotherhood. Philippa gathers her allies at Montecalvo castle, and the first members include Triss Merigold, Keira Metz and Margarita Laux-Antille. Others follow, among them Sheala de Tancarville, Francesca Findabair and, from Nilfgaard, Assire var Anahid and Fringilla Vigo. Yennefer is brought in later, very much against her will. The Lodge’s biggest plan revolves around Ciri: they want her as a member and intend to marry her to Tankred Thyssen of Kovir, producing a magically gifted heir to the richest throne in the North.
In The Witcher 2
The Lodge returns in The Witcher 2 with an even bolder scheme. Its members hire the witcher Letho to murder kings, including Foltest of Temeria and Demavend of Aedirn, hoping to build a state ruled by mages. It goes horribly wrong. Letho was working for Nilfgaard all along, and when the plot comes to light, the sorceresses pay for it with prison, execution and, in Philippa’s case, her eyes.
In The Witcher 3
In The Witcher 3, magic is hunted across the North by Radovid and his witch hunters, and the surviving sorceresses are scattered. Philippa, freed from her owl form, tries to bring the Lodge back together, and this time she has a gentler pitch for Ciri: join as an equal rather than serve as a pawn. Whether that is real progress or just better marketing is up to you.